5 Things You Can Do Now to Stop Anxiety

When excessive fears and worries plague you, it is critical to figure out what you can do to stop the anxiety so that it doesn't completely take over your life. If you have an anxiety disorder, it's essential that you find simple strategies that can help you manage or reduce your anxiety. Here are five things that you can do now to help stop your anxiety before it gets out of control.

Understand the Anatomy of Your Anxiety

When you understand what your anxiety attack is, what causes them, and how your body responds, you can keep from becoming scared of the symptoms. When you can become unafraid of your anxiety symptoms, you can quickly put a stop to them when your mind starts to race with anxious thoughts. Knowledge is power, and the more you can understand your anxiety, the faster you can stop it from controlling your life.

Stop Scaring Yourself

Fear is the most common culprits behind anxiety. When you can refuse to allow, yourself to become scared you can effectively remove the primary reason for your anxiety. When you eliminate fear from your life, you can gain more control of your body's emergency response system and take control of your anxiety.

Calm Yourself

Being able to calm yourself down helps to shut off the mechanism in your brain that causes anxiety attacks and ends your body's stress response. The more you can calm yourself down, the faster you can stop the anxiety attack and start to feel better. A sure way to end, control, and prevent future panic attacks is to find out ways to calm yourself down.

Distract Yourself

Most anxiety attacks are caused and fueled by anxious thoughts. When you can distract your attention, you can effectively prevent anxious thoughts from taking over. As you prevent your thoughts from turning anxious, you can also put an end to voluntary anxiety attacks.

Know That Anxiety Attacks End

No matter how powerful an anxiety attack can be, it will always end. While you can stop them faster by implementing some of the above techniques and methods, you have to remember that all anxiety attacks will end. Riding out the anxiety attack and knowing that it will end, can help you to stay calm and shut off the stress response and anxiety attack.

You don’t need to suffer needlessly. You can eliminate your anxiety attacks naturally with these simple tips.

5 Signs That You’re Experiencing an Anxiety Attack

Anxiety attack symptoms tend to mimic many of the same symptoms as a heart attack and can come on you without any warning. You don’t need to have a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder to suffer from an anxiety attack, they don’t discriminate and can strike anyone. Here are five signs that you might be experiencing an anxiety attack.

Sudden Terror or Sense of Impending Doom

One of the most common signs that you are experiencing an anxiety attack is the overwhelming fear or sense of impending doom. The terror that you experience can be paralyzing and is a result of adrenaline flooding your body due to the perception of immediate danger.

Chest Pains

This is the most common symptom that might have you feeling like you’re having a heart attack. The pains that you feel in your chest during a panic attack can be severe and choking. If you are experiencing chest pains, its best to get checked out by the doctor to rule out a heart attack.

Difficulty Breathing

A panic attack can have you struggling to breathe properly, or you may feel like you're having to gasp for air. With high levels of anxiety, you can end up hyperventilating, which can cause an imbalance in the carbon dioxide levels in your body. This can lead to dizziness and other symptoms.

Increased Heart Rate

When you are experiencing an anxiety attack, your body responds as if it is facing imminent danger. Nervous signals activate the fight-or-flight response in your body, which produces a rush of adrenaline in your blood stream. This surge in hormones causes many symptoms, including an increased heart rate, which can make you think that you are suffering from a heart attack.

Feeling Out of Control

The intense fear and physical symptoms that you experience during a panic attack can often leave you feeling out of control. This can significantly heighten the fear that you are already suffering and may lead you to feel disconnected from yourself. The surrounding environment may feel distorted or foggy.

The symptoms that you may be experiencing during a panic attack are much like the fight-or-flight response that is encountered during a dangerous situation, but they tend to come from nowhere when you are dealing with an anxiety attack. Fortunately, there are several things that you can do to help alleviate your symptoms and stop the panic attack in its tracks.

4 Signs That You Might Have an Anxiety Disorder

Feeling anxious every once in a while and having an anxiety disorder are two very different things. When you have an anxiety disorder, you can become fixated on a thought or feeling that leads you down a rabbit hole of anxious thoughts. While there are different types of anxiety disorders, a common thread between them all is that it interferes with your daily life. Here are four signs that may signal you are dealing with an anxiety disorder.

Your Anxious Thoughts Don’t Go Away

When you have an anxiety disorder, you often become incredibly anxious in situations where others might only get a little anxious, like during family gatherings. This anxiety also tends to last longer and is more persistent. When your anxious thoughts start to impact your daily life, that's when it becomes an issue.

Your Anxiety Manifests Itself Physically

If your anxious thoughts are accompanied by physical conditions, like restlessness, fatigue, and muscle pain, among others, it could signal that you have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders can lead to gastrointestinal issues, like heartburn, cramping, and even diarrhea. These physical symptoms are as a result of your body being in a constant heightened state of anxiety.

You Can’t Focus

It isn't that uncommon for people who have a general anxiety disorder to be mistakenly diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is because when you have an anxiety disorder, you tend to have difficulty focusing. When you're always anxious, you tend to be in your head constantly and can get distracted by the negative thoughts and obsessions rattling around in your head. To an outsider, it looks like you have ADHD.

You Have Trouble Sleeping

The anxiety that you experience tends to take your thoughts on a ride that leaves you struggling to catch some zzz’s. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), some level of sleep disruption is present in almost all mental disorders, including anxiety.

If you have more than one of these symptoms, there’s a good chance that you might be dealing with an anxiety disorder. However, before you jump to any conclusions, it’s best to speak with your doctor to rule out any other conditions, because anxiety symptoms often mimic other medical conditions. Fortunately, anxiety disorders can be treated so that you can learn to manage your symptoms and get back to living your life.

12 Strategies for Staying Motivated, So You Reach Your Goals

Without motivation, you’re dead in the water. Nothing gets done, and worse, you can’t find the energy to change that situation. The last thing you want to do is to fall into the vortex of broken dreams and lost promise. How do you change that? Simply by not getting there in the first place. The trick is to STAY motivated, even when you’re not feeling it. How?

1. Stop procrastinating. Chances are if you’re procrastinating you’ve stopped working, and motivation is already slipping to dangerous levels. When this happens, you need to give yourself a sharp kick in the backside and keep going — no excuses.

2. Cut out distractions. What’s going on around you? Is something taking your attention away from your work? Maybe it’s time to work wearing headphones, or to isolate until you get your momentum back.

3. Change of scenery. If you’re still having trouble, it might be because you’re growing stagnant. You’ve been working too long, and you need to clear your head. Take a walk. Go for a drive. Or if you’re stuck at work, then take your laptop to an empty conference room — anything to create a change.

4. Exercise. Nothing stimulates the brain and gets it going again like exercise. You don’t have to commit to an hour-long run to get your motivation back. Even a short jog around the block will get your heart pumping and your brain producing endorphins to jump you back into high gear again.

5. Meditate. Or in contrast to the last item on the list, slow down. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Find your center and your calm. Relax and let go of what’s going on around you.

6. Stop worrying. While this one is easier said than done, the main idea here is to let go of the things you cannot change so that you can keep looking forward without anything inhibiting you.

7. Listen to music: Put on music that puts ideas into your head, and a bounce to your step. The genre doesn’t matter. It’s how the music makes you feel that counts. Use whatever gives you get up and go to get back in motion.

8. Make a Daily To-Do list. It might be you’re losing motivation because you’re too overwhelmed by big goals. Break those goals down, and then drop those bite-sized pieces on a daily To-Do list. Be careful not to overload the list with too much. You want to set yourself up for success – not failure.

9. Find someone who motivates you. Maybe you need a mentor. Or it could be a biography of someone who you find motivating is just the thing to inspire you back to action when you’re flagging. Give yourself time to meet with your mentor, or to read on a regular basis.

10. Visualize success. Most important, see yourself completing the project in as much detail as you can imagine. A positive visualization of success tells your subconscious that you can succeed. Sometimes that’s all you need to get your energy back.

There are many more things you can try that aren’t on this list. The important thing to remember is that we’re all different. If something motivates you, then use that to keep your project on track. Only you know what you need to succeed, so get out there and do it!

Easy Ways to Stay Motivated

Lack of motivation is the death knell on many a project. That is why it’s so important to stay motivated long after your initial enthusiasm for the project has disappeared. It sounds daunting, but it’s not as hard as it seems. Sometimes staying motivated is as easy as setting up a strategy to keep yourself on track.

What can you do?

1.  Define your goal. Picture it down to the last detail. Having a clear picture of your destination makes it more likely that you will achieve your goals.

2. List all the reasons why you’ve made this goal in the first place. That becomes your primary motivation, so you’re going to want to write this list down, and then revisit it as you proceed.

3. Break the goal into pieces. Then find a reward for each piece. While this seems like common sense, it’s easy to forget the rewards – especially if you think of those small goals as being negligible. But it’s those little celebrations that will keep your motivation up as you go along.

4. Be flexible. Recognize that things change. The plan that you made might require a shift to accomplish your goal. Or your end product might change when you get more information. Realize that it’s OK to change your mind, so long as you again revisit all these steps when you do. It might be you’ll have to outline a different set of steps, for example.

5. Have a support team. It’s nearly impossible to succeed when you’re trying to do something alone. Having a set of people in your life you can rely on as a positive presence to encourage you, brings in motivation from outside of you, which will help when you’re feeling discouraged.

6. Have a plan for when motivation fails. What helps bring motivation back. Affirmations? Talk with a mentor? A change of scenery? Listing this in advance means you have a ‘go to’ you can put into play the moment you feel your energy crash.

7. Re-examine the entire process periodically. Note changes. That is where the ‘being flexible’ thing will prove helpful. Even without changes, remembering why you’re doing this in the first place is a good practice to make into a habit, as it will help you rebuild lost motivation when you need it most.

Losing motivation doesn’t need to be something to be afraid of, especially if you’ve made plans to help keep your motivation at optimal levels as you work. Believe it or not, the best tool in your arsenal lies in being prepared. Work the plan, and the path toward success is yours.                                       

Using Visualization to Stay Motivated and Reach Your Goals

It seems like magic. How is it that simply imagining a thing can make it real? No, we’re not talking about a new spell from Harry Potter, we’re talking about Creative Visualization, which is more science than magic.

Visualization means that you’re guiding your thoughts onto a certain path in a certain way to ensure success. While it might seem a little mystical at first glance, there’s some pretty solid science behind it. Studies have shown that it’s our attitudes that frequently determine our success. In other words, if we think we’re going to fail, we’re indeed very likely to fail.

But does the opposite hold true? Not always, because there might be other factors that have to do with your success that is outside of your control – like a lack of knowledge when you begin or a lack of resources to see your project through to completion. But what IS proven is the importance of a positive mindset. Visualization takes that positivity to the next level and allows you to SEE your success.

How do you do it?

1. Start with the goal. If you’re not sure where you’re going, how can you expect to get there? In this step, you’re going to want to picture what you want or hope to accomplish exactly. That is the big picture goal, so don’t worry about the details just yet. Right now you’re gaining a direction.

2. Add layers. Here’s where you get into the nitty-gritty of what you want to do. Once you have your big picture goal, now you can work out the smaller components that make it up. Imagine this goal in the most minute details until you have a clear understanding of what you need to do to get where you want to go.

3. Expect the unexpected. Now imagine the obstacles you’re likely to come up against and stop you in your tracks. How do you intend to handle them? Plan for every contingency.

4. Add in practical application. In short – practice. Not just in your head, but in the physical world as well. That means rehearsing that speech in front of a mirror before giving it in front of a crowd. Take your visualization and put it to the test. And then go back and revisit your visualization and make adjustments as necessary. Repeat as many times as necessary.

5. See the Success. When visualizing perhaps the most important thing to see in your mind’s eye is your success. Take your goal to completion with all of its steps, including that happy ending where everything has gone exactly right.

By using visualization, you give yourself an important edge. That edge translates to motivation. When you’re sure of your success you can’t help but be excited about what you’re doing. What’s amazing is that using that motivation then creates a stronger visualization, creating a cycle of success that is unbeatable. Imagine that!

Staying Motivated When Surrounded by Negativity

It seems to be a universal rule that no matter how motivated you are, there will always be someone equally motivated whose sole purpose in life is that of being a buzzkill. We see this especially in the world of social media where even the most positive post will garner at least one response in the negative. How then are we supposed to stay motivated when surrounded by so much negativity?

1. Plan for a positive outcome. When you don’t have a clear direction, you can’t expect to have great results. What is your vision for the future? What do you need to do to get there? Envision the process from start to finish. Then write it down so that you have it available as a roadmap to get you where you want to go.

2. Change your expectations. Don’t let the negative messages mess with your mind. In other words, take control. If you expect things to go badly, chances are they will. Silence the negative voices and instead focus on the positive.

3. Seize the day! If things aren’t going well, rather than listen to the naysayers, carefully evaluate where you are. Is there something you can change that will improve the outcome? Put your focus there.

4. Know when to let go. Along with that same vein, realize that if there are things you can’t change. Worrying about them isn’t going to make the outcome any different. Let go of what you cannot change or help.

5. Surround yourself with positivity. Affirmations, books that motivate, people that are positive – all of these should be in your toolkit to combat negativity. If you fill your mind with positive messages, you can’t help but drown out the negativity. By doing so, you’ll find it’s much easier to stay motivated no matter what’s life throws at you.

6. Who’s on your side? When you live under a constant barrage of negativity, the people you surround yourself with become very important. Find the cheerleaders, the Pollyannas, the positive people who love to cheer for you and keep them close at hand. With the right team on your side, you can’t help but succeed.

7. Don’t forget to celebrate. Don’t wait for the big milestones to recognize your accomplishments. Small celebrations along the way will remind you in a very visual way of your successes. It becomes easier to expect success when you remind yourself that you’ve done it many times before.

Negativity can’t stand up to a strong positive influence. Keeping motivated then is simply a matter of looking at what’s around you – and changing the scenery if it’s not working for you. Remember: Positive influence breeds positive results.

How to Stay Motivated without Burning Out

We’ve all felt it, the soul-crushing exhaustion that isn’t so much physical as mental. Where you can’t do one more thing at work, even though you love your job, and even whatever reward system you have in place isn’t enough to get you moving again.

That is burnout, and it hits all of us at some time or another. How can you avoid this dreaded quicksand trying to suck you down and keep you from being productive? It’s all in staying motivated. Thankfully there are several ways to do just that.  

1. Take breaks during the day. You can’t keep going endlessly without breaking down. Every now and again, it’s good to lift your head and take a look at the world around you. So get up, grab a drink of water, move around a little. How do you know when to stop? Pause the moment you feel your energy flagging, and before you get so drawn into the doldrums that you lose your motivation to move around.

2. Get rid of your devices. There’s nothing quite so de-motivational as the digital age. The problem with being connected is that people can reach you anywhere, anytime. That means you never quite leave the office, and by extension, you’re never really not working. To solve this, limit checking your work email outside of work, and refuse to discuss business outside of normal business hours. This break is necessary for optimal health of both body and mind.

3. Take weekends off. Again, with the world so connected over the internet, it’s just too easy to keep working, even when you’re supposed to be out spending time with the family. Embrace your downtime and give your work a rest. Having the weekend off will leave you more motivated on Monday and ready to tackle another week of work.

4. Ask yourself why it matters. If you’re feeling a little burned out, it’s time to remind yourself why you do the things you do anyway. Why were you so passionate about this job/project? Recapture this feeling, and your motivation will come flooding back.

5. Just what kinds of breaks do you have? If all you do on your downtime is watch Netflix, chances are you aren’t stimulating your mind. That leads to a further boredom/malaise that’s even harder to shake. When you have the weekend off, give yourself something to do that engages you physically and mentally. Exercise, play a sport, go outside, visit a museum. Stimulate the senses. You’ll be surprised at the motivation that comes from trying something new.

6. Check your health. If the feelings of fatigue persist, a check-up might be in order. It could be that it isn’t burnout at all – but instead, you might be fighting a bug or be a little low on some essential vitamin.

7. Find a different job. If you’re constantly burned out, then it’s possibly time to find something new to do. Take some time to reassess why you do what you do, and whether you’re as passionate about it as you used to be.

Avoiding burnout is possible, but it means listening to your body and mind. Breaks are not only a good idea; they’re integral to good health. Remember, staying motivated means taking care of yourself on every level. 

Do These 5 Things to Make Sure You Stay Motivated

You’re midway through the project, and you’re losing interest. Motivation is about to go out the window, and you feel helpless to keep it. What can you do to stay motivated, so that you’re able to stay on track through the remainder of the project? Try these tips:

1. The first thing you need to do is to visualize your success. Before you go another step, you need to see yourself at the end of the project with everything accomplished to your satisfaction. Why? Because what we tell ourselves will happen – will happen exactly how we tell ourselves. So if you’re caught up in thoughts of failure, you’re already likely to crash and burn. Likewise, if you see yourself at the finish line, with the project completed, you’re much more likely actually to succeed. So keep a positive image in your head, and keep going.

2. Next, stop worrying. Yes, that’s easier said than done, but the more you worry, the more you’re going to derail not just your motivation, but any energy and enthusiasm you still had for the project. To do this, you’re going to have to look critically at what you’re doing and ask yourself if there are things you can change. If so – change them. If not, then let them go. Motivated people don’t get caught up in worry, but instead, they make it a habit of looking to the future.

3. If you intend to stay motivated, then you’re going to need to be consistent in action and in setting positive goals. Motivation flags when neglected, so to keep the energy where it’s going to do the project the most good, you’ll want to make sure that you’re constantly moving forward. That means checking your motivation levels daily and then taking action to keep those levels up. Even if you’re taking the weekend off from work, you should take at least a few minutes to indulge in thoughts about your project, where you remind yourself that you’re looking forward to jumping back in on Monday morning. That keeps motivation and interest high even when you’re not working.

4. If you’re still having trouble with motivation, check to see who’s hanging around. It could be that you have too many negative influences around you. Surround yourself with positive people, who are also highly motivated individuals. All that positive energy is bound to rub off on you!

5. Lastly, keep a positive environment where motivation can thrive. Listen to music that motivates. Use positive affirmations, read motivational books or listen to podcasts that make you want to jump right back into your project. A lot of staying motivation comes from feeding yourself with a steady diet of things that motivate.

Staying motivated doesn’t have to be an impossible task. Some attention to the details will keep you on track as you work and help you to get to the finish line. Be mindful of what you’re doing, and with a variety of positive influences, you’ll get to where you want to go.

5 Ways to Stay Motivated No Matter What

Losing motivation? It happens to the best of us. But there are tricks to staying motivated, many of which involve taking a hard look at your goals. With a little preparation and solid planning, there’s no reason why you can’t stay motivated all the way through whatever project you’ve set out for yourself.

How?

1. Start with the big picture. What is it you’re trying to accomplish? Having an idea of the eventual goal will help you to stay on track. The clearer the vision, the more likely you are to keep going, even when times get tough. Ask yourself what it is you’re trying to achieve – and then picture yourself achieving it. The visualization step is the most important one here. We tend to perform in the way we expect to. So if we expect to fail, we do. By seeing success, you’re more likely to attain success.

2. Now that you’ve gotten the big picture make sure this is YOUR goal. At first glance that statement seems ridiculous – why would you make a goal that isn’t your own?  This answer can be found most easily in asking WHY you want to accomplish what you are. If the word “should” comes up, then chances are you might want to re-evaluate what you’re doing. We often set goals because we feel like they’re something we’re supposed to do, and not because they’re something we want to do. You’re less likely to stay motivated when you’re on the path of ‘should.’

3. Next, you’ll want to break those tasks down into something manageable. Now that you have a goal and are sure it’s something you want to do, you might feel a little overwhelmed about how you’re going to accomplish that goal. By breaking it up into smaller pieces, you regain the feeling that you’re doing something possible. Like a pro tip? Celebrate the small successes then as you go. That will help keep the motivation levels high.

4. If you’re still a little overwhelmed, get organized. It might be that you don’t feel prepared to work on this project because you lack the research or supplies. Figure out what you need, and then go about making sure you have the proper tools to get the job done. It’s easier to stay motivated when you have what you need to succeed.

5. If all else fails, remember why you set the goal in the first place. It could be you only need a little reminder of your previous motivation to find the fresh motivation to keep going.

Motivation isn’t something you have to lose as you work on a project. You can keep your motivation levels high with a little forethought and planning. By keeping on track with your goals, you’ll find that motivation will likewise keep on track, guiding you all the way through the job at hand until completion.